Social media image sizes, with safe areas
Every size this tool makes, the pixels each one needs, and the part of the frame each platform covers with its own buttons and captions.
Every size this makes
Each one is ready to pick above. Keep clear is the part of the frame that platform covers with its own buttons and captions, so anything you put there may not be seen.
| Platform | Pixels | Shape | Keep clear |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube thumbnail | 1280 × 720 | Wide 16:9 | Edges only |
| YouTube Shorts cover | 1080 × 1920 | Tall 9:16 | right 17%, bottom 20% |
| TikTok cover | 1080 × 1920 | Tall 9:16 | top 10%, right 20%, bottom 22% |
| Instagram Reel or Story | 1080 × 1920 | Tall 9:16 | top 12%, right 17%, bottom 20% |
| Instagram post | 1080 × 1350 | Tall 4:5 | Edges only |
| Instagram square | 1080 × 1080 | Square 1:1 | Edges only |
| X card | 1600 × 900 | Wide 16:9 | Edges only |
| Facebook link image | 1200 × 630 | Wide | Edges only |
| LinkedIn post image | 1200 × 627 | Wide | Edges only |
| Twitch thumbnail | 1280 × 720 | Wide 16:9 | bottom 10% |
| Podcast cover art | 3000 × 3000 | Square 1:1 | bottom 9% |
| Blog or link preview | 1200 × 630 | Wide | Edges only |
Where each platform covers your thumbnail
A safe area is the part of the frame you can count on people seeing. Everything outside it still gets saved in the file, but the app you post to draws its own interface on top: a caption, a row of buttons down one side, a profile photo, a duration badge.
Landscape thumbnails lose almost nothing, which is why a YouTube thumbnail can run text close to the edge. Vertical covers are the opposite. TikTok, Reels and Shorts all stack controls down the right and captions along the bottom, so a headline centred in the frame ends up behind a share button.
Each size in this tool carries its own safe rectangle, and the numbers in the table above are those rectangles written out. Tick Show safe areas while you work and the same box is drawn on the preview. It is a guide only, and never appears in the file you download.
Platform by platform
YouTube thumbnail
1280 × 720 · 16:9 · Edges only
The one everybody means by “thumbnail”. A duration badge sits in the bottom-right corner over the top of it, and on a phone the title runs underneath rather than across, so the frame itself stays almost entirely yours.
YouTube Shorts cover
1080 × 1920 · 9:16 · right 17%, bottom 20%
Taken from the video rather than uploaded separately, so pick the frame you want. The right edge carries the like, comment and share column and the bottom carries the title.
TikTok cover
1080 × 1920 · 9:16 · top 10%, right 20%, bottom 22%
The busiest chrome of any format here. The action rail runs down the right, the caption and handle sit along the bottom, and the For You and Following tabs cross the top.
Instagram Reel or Story
1080 × 1920 · 9:16 · top 12%, right 17%, bottom 20%
The cover is cropped to a square in the profile grid, so anything that has to survive both views belongs in the middle of the frame.
Instagram post
1080 × 1350 · 4:5 · Edges only
Instagram's feed default is the 4:5 portrait, not the square. It takes up more of a phone screen, which is most of why it performs better.
Instagram square
1080 × 1080 · 1:1 · Edges only
Still valid, and still the shape of the profile grid. Reach for it when a design genuinely wants to be square.
X card
1600 × 900 · 16:9 · Edges only
Shown as a 16:9 card in the timeline. Cards get cropped aggressively on some clients, so keep anything that matters away from the edges.
Facebook link image
1200 × 630 · Edges only
The link-preview image. Facebook re-crops it depending on where it appears, which is the usual reason text near an edge disappears.
LinkedIn post image
1200 × 627 · Edges only
The link-preview image, at 1.91:1 like Facebook's. Feed images posted directly are a different shape again.
Twitch thumbnail
1280 × 720 · 16:9 · bottom 10%
Shown with a live badge and a viewer count over the lower part of the frame.
Podcast cover art
3000 × 3000 · 1:1 · bottom 9%
Apple and Spotify both want a large square. It gets displayed at every size from a full screen down to a 40-pixel row, so anything small vanishes.
Blog or link preview
1200 × 630 · Edges only
The Open Graph image, used whenever a link to your page is shared anywhere. 1200 by 630 is the size every platform accepts.
Questions
What is a safe area on a thumbnail?
The part of the frame the platform will not cover with its own interface. Anything outside it may sit behind a caption, a button or a duration badge, so keep your headline and logo inside it.
Why do TikTok and Reels cover more of the frame than YouTube?
Vertical formats put their controls on top of the video rather than beside it. TikTok keeps roughly the right fifth of the frame for its action rail and the bottom fifth for the caption, while a landscape YouTube thumbnail only loses a duration badge in one corner.
Does the dashed safe-area box appear in the image I download?
No. It is drawn on the preview only. The exported PNG contains your artwork and nothing else.
What size should an Instagram post be?
1080 by 1350 pixels, a 4:5 portrait. Square at 1080 by 1080 still works and is included as its own preset, but the 4:5 takes up more of the screen on a phone.
Do my images get uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything is drawn in your browser on your own device. No image, and nothing you type, is ever sent to a server.
Make one at any of these sizes
The tool on the front page renders all of them, draws the safe box on the preview while you work, and will export every size in one pass. Nothing you open in it is uploaded.